What began as a simple bath renovation in this 19th-century house in Normandy soon spiraled into a complete decorative do-over. The key to it all? A palette of rich, unexpected colors

drawing room

drawing room

When the owner of this 19th-century Normandy village house first moved in three years ago, he thought he would simply give the place a coat of paint. After all, it had been completely restored, including the construction of a 1,000-square-foot addition, in the 1980s. Everything seemed in relatively good shape. But upon closer inspection of the master bath, he saw that beneath the marble was pretty wood paneling. He called on interior designer Franz Potisek, who had also renovated the owner's Left Bank apartment in Paris, and together they decided to rip out the marble and tile except for the flooring, replace all the fixtures, and repaint the paneling in light colors, so it looked "like it was the house's original bathroom," Potisek says. The problem was, once that was done, "the rest of the house looked awful in comparison," he says with a laugh. "So we kept going."

In the drawing room of a 19th-century Normandy house decorated by Franz Potisek, the 19th-century armchairs are French, the cocktail table is custom made, and the curtains are of a plaid wool by Sanderson. The door and walls are painted in Zuber's Matte in Noir de Fumée, Femme Chocolate, and Frau Gretschen, and the beams are in Farrow & Ball's Estate Emulsion in Eating Room Red.

dining room

dining room

The key to the makeover was the use of color—a lot of it. The owner suggested "green with touches of violet, or blue with touches of red," Potisek recalls. "But I didn't want it to be rustic, with plain wood, like you see in most country houses. I find that sad."

Potisek designed the dining room cabinetry, the late-20th-century chairs are Spanish, the French chandelier is from the late 19th century, and the early-20th-century rug is from the Middle East.